Contractor damaged lift station force main
On Sept. 4, as a result of damage caused by a contractor, the City of Sarasota lost about 4,500 gallons of raw wastewater from Lift Station 8, which stands at the intersection of Cocoanut Avenue and 10th Street, city Utilities Department staff has reported to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).
“The wastewater entered the [stormwater] collection system that flows to a [stormwater] pond,” the report said. “Ultimately, that pond discharges to Sarasota Bay.”
“City crews pulled 6,000 gallons of water” from the stormwater pond, the report pointed out, “in an attempt to retrieve as much of the spill volume as possible. The area was treated with lime, hosed down and vacuumed up. Samples will be collected,” the report added, referring to the requirement to determine effects of the spill on water bodies, in an effort to prevent public harm from contamination.
The incident occurred at 10:45 a.m. on Sept. 4, the report said; it was resolved by 11:45 a.m. that day.
The report pointed out that the contractor’s workers damaged a coupling on a 12-inch sewer force main connected to Lift Station 8. As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) explains, “Force mains are pipelines that convey wastewater under pressure from the discharge side of a pump or pneumatic ejector to a discharge point. Pumps or compressors located in a lift station provide the energy for wastewater conveyance in force mains.”
The report further noted that city-owned tanker trucks, “in conjunction with contracted tankers,” were used to transfer the sewage flow from the lift station, “to avoid any spill at that location. City crews were also able to use a trash pump to pump the water from the spill site to an adjacent manhole to move the water to a different lift station,” it added.
A Sarasota News Leader online search found that a company called Aspire Living Sarasota LLC , of Cincinnati, applied in November 2023 for a right-of-way use permit in regard to work on an apartment project known as Aspire on Tenth, near the intersection of Cocoanut Avenue and 10th Street. The project’s address is 1313 10th St., city Development Services records show.
The development was called Luxe on Tenth, the Sarasota Observer reported,when it won City Commission approval in October 2021. The four-story structure was to include 157 units.
Weekly City of Sarasota Development Services reports indicate that the developer applied in March of this year to alter several of the units and the amenity/office space, “for a net increase of 1818 square feet.”
On June 25, a Development Services report says, city staff sent a letter to the developer, approving changes.